This year, this page will be used mainly for "National" stature
regattas, e.g. regattas that might draw boats from outside the local fleets.
This would include, for example, Key West RW, SORC, Charleston RW, the NOOD
regattas, SF Big Boats, et al. I'll gladly consider exceptions of note however.

The regatta was out of Bahia Corinthian YC in Newport Beach, CA. Winds were
light to even lighter. At most 10 kts, at least less than zero. This was my
first class race since taking delivery of DESPICABLE over Labor Day weekend.
In fact, this is the first time we've even seen a J/105 other than our own.
Our goal on DESPICABLE was not to embarass ourselves and see if we are doing
things the same as the others and if we have equal boat speed.

The winner was Tom Carruthers from San Diego in CLOUSEAU. Tom had two firsts
and a second on Saturday. He faded on Sunday to 6th, but came back strong in
the last race to win the regatta by three points. Hard luck award goes to Brian
Dougherty on LEGACY. He was second going into Sunday, did well in both races
Sunday but was OCS in the first race. That dropped him from 2nd to 4th. Second
was Stuart Cannon from San Diego in J-OK, third was Abbott Brown/Ken Lemberger
from Marina Del Rey in J-HAWK and, surprise of all surpises, 5th was DESPICABLE.
We had a 5-3-6-3-7 regatta. Felt like we had good speed, shaky tactics a few
times, one horrible start and overall a lot of fun. This is a great class boat
and I'm looking forward to more class racing.

Friday: A summer-long Texas drought came to an end as heavy squalls complete
with thunder and lightning steamed through a fleet of over 600 sailors attending
this year's Galveston Bay Sailing World NOOD regatta, hosted by Lakewood YC
in Lakewood, Texas. The first race was plagued by spells of driving rain and
light, shifty winds, but a few fortuitous puffs provided some competitors with
the opportunity to make big gains.

Saturday: Hot, sunny skies and 12-knot steady winds graced Galveston Bay as
16 classes competed on Day 2 of the Galveston Bay Sailing World NOOD regatta.
YesterdayÕs leaders continued to drive for the top positions, and in the unwavering
breeze their dominance was clearly defined. "The wind isnÕt usually this steady,
and today it just didnÕt move," said Lakewood YC Race Committee Chairman Mike
Jones. "It really separates the wannabes from the real bees. In that kind of
wind you canÕt accidentally end up in the right spot. YouÕve just got to sail
the boat."

Sunday: With flat water, bright sunshine, and 10-knot winds, even the most
diehard partygoers from Saturday night's festivities, which included a live
band and a lot of Mount Gay Rum, were eager to compete.

North American Championship, Annapolis, MD
September 22-24, 2000

Number of entries: 34

Pos

Bow/Sail

Boat

Skipper

1

2

3

4

Total
Points

Pos

1

86/113

Le
Renard

Phillips

7

1

5

6

19

1

2

61/93111

Blonde
Attack

Sutton

13

6

7

1

27

2

3

85/83263

Plum
Crazy

Skibo

1

5

1

23

30

3

4

79/327

Mojo

Bigden

2

24

6

3

35

4

5

80/328

Mirage

Lewis/Salvesen

8

8

14

8

38

5

6

93/97

Archangel

Sorensen

15

18

4

5

42

6

7

81/163

Thoosa

Driver

10

12

16

7

45

7

8

67/106

Osprey

Ostberg

27

16

3

2

48

8

9

75/83136

No
More Trouble

Corcoran

18

9

8

13

48

9

10

60/93105

Freedom

Schellie

29

4

12

4

49

10

11

62/253

Stampede

Burdge

12

2

18

19

51

11

12

84/83082

Singularity

Shortz

6

14

17

14

51

12

13

99/251

Breakaway

Hinds

4

20

9

20

53

13

14

68/210

J'Makin
Waves

Olinger

11

7

13

22

53

14

15

89/68

Levitation

Doane

14

10

22

9

55

15

16

71/313

A
Train

Reeves

3

19

15

21

58

16

17

91/351

Inigo

Udell

16

11

2

35/DSQ

64

17

18

83/216

Beep
Beep

Mitchell

22

22

11

11

66

18

19

78/321

Rum
Puppy

Biddle

20

17

20

12

69

19

20

92/220

Underdog

Behrle

9

15

28

24

76

20

21

95/62

Bam

Rathbun/charter

5

35/OCS

19

18

77

21

22

64/264

Orangutan

Gallitano

24

3

26

28

81

22

23

63/83161

Java

Groobey

17

13

25

27

82

23

24

65/203

Maccabee

Levitt

25

23

31

10

89

24

25

66/98

Curlew

Detweiler

19

25

21

25

90

25

26

82/50623

Merlin

Walker

26

21

23

26

96

26

27

70/250

El
Toro

Bond

30

26

10

35/OCS

101

27

28

87/326

Mopelia

Seynhaeve

21

35/OCS

32

15

103

28

29

69/208

Jay
Boat

Kircher

31

27

30

16

104

29

30

94/205

Sassy

Percival

35/OCS

28

27

17

107

30

31

76/308

Suddenly
Sixty

Kushner

23

29

29

30

111

31

32

77/322

White
Knight

Schragger

28

30

24

29

111

32

33

74/329

Saykadoo

McManus

32

31

33

31

127

33

34

88/350

Tern
VI

Johnstone

35/RET

35/RET

35/RET

35/RET

140

34

Big Boats 2000, San Francisco
September 22-24, 2000

Fleet: J105

Races: 1 to 7

No.

Race
1

Race
2

Race
3

Race
4

Race
5

Race
6

Race
7

No.

Sail
No.

Yacht
Name

Skipper
Name

Total

1

375

WIND
DANCE

Pugh/
Littfin

7

2

4

3

12

12

4

5

42

2

112

SAILS
CALL

Charles

7

1

13

19

3

3

6

2

47

3

28558

JOSE
CUERVO

Hock

7

3

8

7

2

21

1

9

51

4

128

BELLA
ROSA

Tambellini

7

4

16

2

13

1

13

4

53

5

111

CHARADE

Coates

7

10

3

21

14

2

3

3

56

6

35

GOOD
TIMIN'

Perkins

7

16

20

1

4

5

14

1

61

7

28905

ORION

Kneeland

7

17

14

6

8

7

12

8

72

8

28682

BLACKHAWK

Dietrich

7

5

1

13

10

8

16

20

73

9

157

WALLOPING
SWEDE

Kassberg

7

11

6

23

6

6

5

30

87

10

268

JUXTAPOSE

Watts/
Thayer

7

19

7

12

25

11

2

12

88

11

32

JITTERBUG

Eaton

7

8

19

8

11

19

18

10

93

12

173

HOKULELE

Cooper

7

21

15

10

16

10

10

18

100

13

84

ADVANTAGE
3

Benedict

7

7

25

18

1

18

27

11

107

14

116

ARBITRAGE

Stone

7

9

12

4

28

33.00D

9

13

108

15

149

JABBERWOCKY

Vaughan

7

6

10

11

21

20

20

20

108

16

347

BALD
EAGLE

Paul

7

12

5

5

17

29

23

22

113

17

105

THRASHER

Podell

7

23

28

15

5

15

11

23

120

18

266

JUSFOOLIN'AROUN

Kennelly

7

30

22

14

20

13

8

15

122

19

28831

JOYRIDE

Hoehler

7

26

27

9

31

4

19

12

128

20

265

TIBURON

Stroub

7

24

24

16

26

9

17

16

132

21

196

CAPRICORN

Booth

7

20

11

28

9

17

22

27

134

22

298

OUT
OF OPTIONS

Berman

7

14

2

20

18

22

29

33

138

23

355

WHISPER

Kim

7

22

33

17

23

14

7

25

141

24

46456

IRRATIONAL AGAIN

Leet

7

13

17

27

27

16

25

26

151

25

319

LIGHTWAVE

Craig

7

15

9

30

19

26

31

25

155

26

217

PIPPIN

Owen

7

28

21

24

15

23

30

17

158

27

28142

WIANNO

Sullivan

7

27

18

26

24

28

15

28

166

28

28447

ULTIMATUM

DiLorenzo

7

18

23

31

22

27

24

29

174

29

134

KONZA

Carlston

7

25

26

22

30

24

21

31

179

30

16

RONIN

Jacob

7

33

33

25

7

30

28

33

189

31

28438

KOOKABURRA

Mudge

7

29

29

29

29

25

26

26

193

32

93

WE
BE JAMMIN' 2

Zakin

7

33

33

33

33

33

33

33

231

Day One of this yearÕs Big Boat Series turned out to be a very interesting
day on the water. The winds ranged from 10 to 20 knots, generally favoring the
left side of the course. Several of the fleets experiencing wind shifts as big
as thirty degrees during their upwind legs. The 29 boat J105 fleet is lead by
Dean DietrickÕs Blackhawk with a first day 5-1 score.

Day Two of the 2000 Big Boat Series started with overcast skies and 6 to 8
knots of breeze. 116 boats raced today in nine different classes. Each fleet
raced twice today with all of the boats finishing their second race in front
of the St. Francis Yacht Club. The results made for a perfect photo opportunity
to anyone at the St. Francis Yacht Club or along the Marina Green. The thirty
three boat J105 fleet is lead by Jose Cuervo (3-8-7-2). One point back is Wind
Dance (2-4-3-12) in second place. Blackhawk (5-1-13-10) dropped from first to
third place.

Day Three: The wind gods took the morning off today. At race time, there was
less than two knots of breeze and the fleet saw mirror-like conditions across
the entire bay. The morning race, originally scheduled to start at 11:00 was
finally started at 12:45, when the wind began to fill from the West. Each fleet
raced two races today under beautiful clear skies and winds ranging from 10
to 12 knots. Wind Dance (2-4-3-12-13-4) has now moved into first place in the
32 boat J105 fleet. Jose Cuervo (3-8-7-2-22-1) dropped from first to second,
with an uncharacteristic 22 in race #4. Two points back, in third place, is
Ian CharlesÕ Sails Call (1-13-19-3-3-6).

Day Four: The wind gods once again took the morning off today. At race time,
there was less than two knots of breeze and the fleet saw mirror-like conditions
and patchy fog on both race courses. The morning race, originally scheduled
to start at 11:00 was finally started at 12:32, when the wind began to fill
from the Golden Gate Bridge. The 32 boat J105 class needed five restarts before
finally getting its race off today. Wind Dance (2-4-3-12-13-4-5) won the class,
with Ian CharlesÕ Sails Call (1-13-19-3-3-6-2 finished in second. Jose Cuervo
(3-8-7-2-22-19) dropping to third place.

Dave Wilson's J/105 GOOD TIMIN' (San Francisco, Calif.) won the 28-boat J/105
class, after a close battle that went down to the final moments of the final
race. GOOD TIMIN', helmed by Phil Perkins, made its passing moves only in the
final 30 seconds of today's second race to win the largest class in this regatta.
The J/105s were close both on the water and in the final point scores: only
two points separated the top three boats in the final standings. -- Cynthia
Goss 9/3/00.

Every upwind leg was a tightrope walk with wind on one side, current on the
other. For the 102 boats and eight one-design classes sailing in today's bright
sunshine and 8- to 12-knot winds at this year's San Francisco NOOD regatta,
finding the right balance was the key to success. In most classes, shallow water
and less current lured boats within a stone's throw of the St. Francis YC observation
deck, providing the opportunity for competitors to flex their muscles. But further
up the beat, a few boats flexed too hard and ran out of water, prompting early
retirement. With 29 boats, the J/105 class is the largest at the event. Chuck
Eaton's Jitterbug from Mill Valley, Calif., walked away with the first race
and then finished second in the final race of the day. "We got off the line
with a clean start," said John Stuart, Jitterbug's tactician. "We were really
weighing the current and the breeze. It wasn't an easy decision, but we just
stayed on our toes." -- Chris Pastore 9/2/00.

The San Francisco Marina district waterfront was lined with wide-eyed spectators
for a good reason. With every class short tacking the shore in 15- to 20-knot
winds, even the tourists with visions of Ghirardelli chocolate in their heads
stopped to gawk. There are few sailing venues in the United States where thousands
of people can line the shore and actually watch sailboat racing, but today,
San Francisco's bayside promenade gave the viewing public an up-close-and-personal
glimpse. The morning started with the Lima flag flying above the St. Francis
YC race office, signifying there had been an amendment to the race instructions.
The amendment specified that in the final race of the day, the race deck at
the club would be calling the finish line located just off the shore. You couldn't
ask for a better view, and with a chop and a building breeze, you couldn't ask
for better action. One of the most dramatic finishes occurred in the J/105 class,
where Dave Wilson's Good Timin' steered by Phil Perkins passed Diamante with
only 30 seconds to go and finished sixth in the race to win overall by two points.
The key to their success? "We had more heart," said trimmer Darren Ward of Palo
Alto, Calif. Plain and simple. In the J/105 class there were also some personal
triumphs. Dave Liggett's Bald Eagle had some tough races but were in good spirits
upon completion of the day. "Yesterday we had a bad day in the light air," said
Liggett. "And we really had a tough time getting going. We also shrimped our
chute." Despite the pitfalls, Liggett said in the today's heavier winds, they
learned a lot, and in the final race they made their way into the top ten and
finished ninth. -- Chris Pastore 9/3/00.

Verve Cup
August 18-20, 2000

J 105 Class

Sail #

Yacht

Type

Owner

Yacht Club

Race

Total

1

2

3

4

5

46

Lucky Dubie

J 105

SIEGAL

CYC

2

7

1

4

1

15

288

Messy Jessy

J 105

CANDEA

CCYC

1

8

2

3

2

16

123

JOIE DE VIE

J 105

HASTINGS

WYC

3

3

4

2

8

20

50106

NO NAME

J 105

TEAM ZOT

CCYC

10

2

8

1

3

24

104

VYTIS

J 105

PETKUS

BPYC

4

10

3

7

4

28

51078

FastForward

J 105

WOLLERMAN

COLYC

7

4

11

5

6

33

51050

Liquid Courage

J 105

HEUN

MORF

6

6

12

8

5

37

51243

REPETE

J 105

GOLDMAN

CYC

5

9

6

11

7

38

50638

PRONTO II

J 105

EDMAN

JPYC

9

5

7

6

14

41

295

New World

J 105

SMITH

CYC

8

1

13

12

10

44

287

INTANGIBLE

J 105

FALCK

MORF

12

11

5

13

12

53

50785

MOSQUITO

J 105

RADTKE/LAUGHLIN

MYC

11

12

10

10

11

54

81

MAD DOG

J 105

DUNN/COHEE

MORF

13

16

9

9

9

56

263

KIWI

J 105

ZEILER

CYC

15

14

16

16

16

77

233

TEMPEST

J 105

GLOVER

COLYC

16

16

16

16

16

80

The Verve Cup is sponsored annually by the Chicago Yacht Club. This year 186
boats participated, ranging in size from 28 feet to 70 feet. There were a record
15 J105s.

Friday 8/18/2000: Stiff NNE winds at 15-19 kts with waves 4-6 feet with some
larger rollers. Anyone who has sailed in Lake Michigan understands the wave
sizes that are possible from a stiff North wind. Busted gear, downwind surfing
with water over the bow at speeds in excess of 12 knots and spinnaker wipeouts
were common. After the first day JOI DE VIE led the pack with a pair of thirds
and, there were three boats tied for second place with nine points (LUCKY DUBIE,
MESSY JESSY, NEW WORLD). It was anyone's regatta.

Saturday 8/19/2000: Dying and shifting east winds at 6-10 knots with leftover
confused waves. It was a drivers race - keeping the boat going fast through
a washing machine like wave action was tough. Lead changes occurred all the
time based on which wind shift stayed longer. JOI DE VIE maintained a small
lead with LUCKY DUBIE and MESSY JESSY tied for second, two points behind.

Sunday 8/20/2000: Steady south east winds 9-12 knots with waves 1-3 feet.
Len Siegal in CYC-based LUCKY DUBIE pulled out in front for his second win of
the regatta and for regatta honors. The boats in second through fifth completed
their regatta by finishing within seconds of each other. Dorin Candea was at
the top of that pack for a regatta second, but Marty Hastings' eigth was his
worst race of the regatta and dropped him down to third place overall.

The Chicago Yacht Club's Race to Mackinac presented by Lexus, the world's oldest
freshwater yacht race, set sail Saturday, July 22. Three hundred boats, crewed
by 3,000 sailors, compete annually in this 333-mile race from Chicago to Mackinac
Island, Mich. Founded in 1898, this year marked the 102nd anniversary of the
race's founding and the 93rd running of the race.

Twelve J/105's set sail in a new IMS One Design Division using the class jib
and the 89 sq. m spinnaker. Normally the race is a long downwind sleigh ride,
but this year the wind was on the nose for the first day and a half and then
non-existent for a day. The small jib proved to be a challenge for most until
Monday when the winds clocked and the big chute could be set.

The western shore proved out as Marty Hasting's "Joie De Vie" ran up the western
shore before tacking over to the Manitou's. Joie De Vie finished the race in
just over 63 hrs, an hour and half in front of Siegal's second place "Lucky
Dubbie", and Radtke/Laughlin's third place "Mosquito". In fact after 333 miles
5 boats finished within 1/2 hr of each other (places 2-6). That's one design
at its best!

For some of us unfortunate others, the Michigan shore allowed us to get some
scenic Lighthouse pictures! Evan though we non winner's weren't celebrating
at the Pink Pony Tuesday Morning, we were dreaming of that hot shower when we
arrived. Well, that dream went the same way as being first to finish. The whole
island was out of electricity. That was one COLD shower!!!

To all the J/105 Mac Winners -Congratulations! And to all who competed- Thanks
for the memories and your support!

Here are the J/105 results for the Southern Maryland Sailing Association Screwpile
Lighthouse 2000 Challenge regatta. This is one of the BIG events on the Chesapeake
bay with over 130 boats competing in ten classes on two different courses. It
is sailed out of Solomons Island, MD in the waters of the Patuxent River and
the nearby Chesapeake Bay. This year's regatta saw unusually windy conditions
for two of the three days and was also unseasonably cool and cloudy. The J/105
fleet got in five races over three days. Courses were windward/leewards of four,
five, or six legs depending on wind strength with gates at the leeward mark.

The story of the Rolex Regatta was the grand gesture made by Linc Mossup and
his THE CAT CAME BACK crew after they had collided with ODYSSEY and put her
out of commission in race two. Not only did Linc acknowledge responsibility
for the foul, but he offered his boat and his sails to Dimitris Spentzos for
the remainder of the regatta. Team ODYSSEY finished the regatta in Linc's boat
with the permission of the Race Committee and the local organizing fleet. Three
cheers for Linc and his sportmanship. The Corinthian spirit is alive and well
in Fleet #14.

The second story of the Regatta was that of the winner, Jack Colby, and his
NO SURRENDER crew. It seems that the owner took a well-deserved vacation to
Hawaii in June and his son Peter, helmsman Kevin Coughlin and the crew took
the boat to the Newport Gold Regatta without him. Son Peter was to deliver the
sad news that the boat had found the rocks with considerable damage resulting
and sent one of the crewmembers to the hospital. Dad was not happy. The accident
resulted in six weeks of hull repairs ending just the Monday before the Rolex.
Well the repairs must have gone well and the crew must have had something to
prove to the owner as they moved from third to first on the last day of racing,
eking out a 1.75 point victory over the second place boat. There was poetic
justice to the victory after their first place "horizon job" finish on Friday
was thrown out when the race was later abandoned.

The Rolex was sailed in nearly ideal conditions. The first two days saw winds
in the 12-18 knot range, steady from the southwest, with 1-3 foot seas. Sunday
the winds were lighter and the the racing was shortly delayed while the winds
built to the moderate range. Those who got out on the course early on Sunday
may have caught the Coast Guard rescue of a hot air balloon off of Brenton Reef
when it's pilot and crew were blown off course and had to ditch. The Coasties
rescued both the floating basket as well as the $30,000 baloon (but they had
to slice it open to get the water out so they could bring it aboard).

After NO SURRENDER in the final standings was Tom Coates in MASQUERADE. Unfortuanately,
they were OCS in the last race, but managed to fight back to sixth to edge out
PLUM CRAZY by 0.25 points for second. MASQUERADE was sailing with Fleet #1 owners
Dan Shea (DIAMANTE) and Chris Perkins (GOOD TIMIN'). Glen Darden, Reese Hilliard,
and Phil Williamson (HOSS) brought their Texas based crew in fourth and Damian
Emery (ECLIPSE) rounded out the top five.

The 25 J/105's were first start in a circle that had only four New York 40's
in a second class. The RC ran all "M" courses, which were windward-leewards
with the line in the middle, finishing upwind. The first race was a three lap
marathon lasting almost two hours, and the remainder were all twice around,
6 mile affairs. Three races were run the first two days and one final race was
run on Sunday. The second race was abandoned after all the protests were filed
and therein lies another story.

NO SURRENDER had established a commanding lead at the leeward gates, but noticed
that the gates were awfully close together. They were patting themselves on
the back until a few moments later when about eight boats tried squeeze like
toothpaste through a gate large enough for one boat at most. At this point they
realized that their victory would probably be taken away and the race abandoned.
It was not until protests and requests for redress were filed that eight boats
were called into the protest room at 8:15 p.m. and notified of the Committee's
decision to abandon the race rather than try to sort out who was prejudiced.
In this and other incidents on the first day, ALL RIGHT was pierced and put
out of commission by CLOUD 9, IF ONLY ... had her backstay and stern pulpits
removed by a NY 40 (and finished with a sail tie for a backstay), CYAN had her
stanchions removed and her wheel bent by the bowsprit of PFM2, KIMA had a stanchion
bent by T-SQUARED. All but ALL RIGHT and ODYSSEY made it back to the racecourse
the following day. On day two Wet Paint was holed in a rounding incident with
CAT. Who am I forgetting? All but ALL RIGHT and ODYSSEY made it back to the
racecourse the following day. As they used to say on Hill Street Blues ... let's
be careful out there gentlemen!

More stories. PLUM CRAZY sailed with two sons and a daughter and held the lead
going into the final day, KIMA sailed with two sons, and RIGADOON, ALL RIGHT,
NO SURRENDER, 40 WHACKS, & VALE also had father-son teams. Bill Riggs got a
well-deserved victory in race four. Newcomers Howard Sherman, Michael Lindberg,
Bill Purdy, and Victor Bell lost their virginity in big fleet racing and are
ready to come back for more. J/24 National Champion Geoff Moore helmed his boat
for the first time in a big fleet and showed flashes of brilliance with a pair
of deuces, but proved that he has more to learn in the J/105 class. Craig Albrecht
was fresh from victory in his PHRF class earlier in the week (and his award
for most outstanding performance in the PHRF Regatta), but found the competition
stiffer and managed only 11th in the one-design regatta. John Hourihan learned
that bringing two sailmakers aboard does not guarantee good results with a ninth
place showing (after he learned too late that we were sailing according to the
Fleet 6/14 Rules).

-- Nelson Weiderman, KIMA #300

West River Women's Big Boat Regatta
July 8, 2000

A record number this year, 8 J/105s competed in the recent women's regatta
held July 8, 2000 in Annapolis, the biggest one design start in the history
of the regatta.

This would not have been possible without the support of boat owners, Steve
Phillips, Tom Bond, Dan Mitchell, Bill Sutton or Jack Detweiler.

There were three races of competitive close racing in 5-10 mph winds. Phoebe
King sailing LeRenard won with her all american team. Anita Gallitano, coowner
of Orangutan won her first race ever while sailing her second regatta took 2nd
and the team was so energized they are talking about doing the Rolex in 2001.
Sue Mikulski was 3rd on El Torro. Races were won by El Toro, LeRenard and Oragutan.

Winds blew between 18-25 the first day. We had two collisions (4 boats involved)
the first day and lots of ripped spinnakers! 2nd day- 18 knots the first race
then it went light with lumpy seas. Sunday was beautiful with winds 8-10 and
flat seas. Lucky Dubbie showed great speed in all conditions and there experiance
showed over second place winner Messy Jessy (rookie year). It looks real good
for the J/105 class to have a "One-Design" section in the Chicago to Mackinac
Race (333 miles) on July 22, 2000.

Consensus among competitors was that this was not only fun, but a tremendous
learning experience. There's nothing like big-boat one-design to build teamwork
and to highlight where learning must occur to become a better sailor. Can't
blame it on the boat's design or rating committee when they are all the same.
One who doesn't sail one-design is less likely to learn where improvements might
be made to boat preparation, sail trim, crew work, helming technique, etc..

Eight of the boats who normally sail with 89s purchased 77 sq. meter chutes
and J South purchased a 9th chute as a loaner so everyone conformed to class
rules and the visitors would feel right at home.

Tom Coates commented that their crew and wives had three of the best meals
they have ever had, whether San Francisco, New York or Chicago..anywhere, and
that this event is a must for next year. Speak about timely, did anyone see
the New York Times special about "Dining Out in Charleston" last week? There's
no doubt that this Championship is here to stay. Plan on it. In accepting the
J/105 half model Perpetual Trophy, Bob J held it up and. pointed out that, "There
are 5 more blank plaques to fill out for the future".

As an aside, Ross Griffith one of the original J Boat dealers in Charleston
and currently a Melges 24 sailed with Jack King on MERRYTHOUGHT. And, John Porter,
current Melges 24 National President, sailed with Schley Knight from Savannah
on GEECHEE GRACE. Schley is the unsung rookie star of the event. If he hadn't
been tossed for a mark rounding altercation with a J/35 from another fleet in
race 1, he would have tied on points with MASQUERADE. And, if he had covered
Bob J. when he (Schley) had a commanding lead of over 100 yards on the 3rd of
4 legs on both of Saturday's races, he would have ended up with a 1,1,2 in the
last 3 races for a solid 2nd place. Congratulations Schley.

Couple of other notes about CRW. Friday morning it was gray and raining, but
by the 10AM starting time the sun was out. Same thing late Saturday evening:
thunder, lightning and a downpour. But by Sunday morning it was gorgeous and
all the decks were washed. The first day's racing on Friday was capped off by
an outdoor garden pasta dinner at our home on 7 Church Street in the historic
district, following the Key West format where everyone contributed with some
ingredient for the dinner. Mr. Budweiser, Jack King, of course made sure there
was a keg of Bud for the festivities.

And, I didn't mention the highlight of the regatta when MASQUERADE broke it's
boom in a jibing duel with WONDER WAGON about 2/3s down the last run to the
finish of the last race on Friday. At 3:30 PM, after a call from yours truly,
Ben & Nan Hall spent their Friday night driving 2 hours to Boston and back to
put the one remaining boom at Hall Spars on a Delta flight to Charleston. The
boom arrived at 12:48 AM Saturday morning and was on MASQUERADE as it left the
marina by 8:45 in time to keep on racin'. Bill Prezzano, owner of VIEWFINDER,
the only boat in the area not racing, kindly offered to lend Tom Coates his
boom if the air freight option failed.

From the Sailing World press release (Cynthia Goss):

Although J/105 skipper Andy Skibo (Ocean City, N.J.) won the largest class
handily--with four first-place finishes and the largest winning points margin
in the fleet--winning this 31-boat class was one of his toughest challenges.

Skibo entered the final day of racing four points ahead of his closest rival;
but Skibo knows from past experience that four points in this class is not a
very comfortable margin. "Last year, we were eight points behind and we won
. . . None of us were breathing very easily [today]. That mental, we-want-to-win
feeling was intense. It's going to take me three weeks to pry my hands off the
tiller," Skibo said.

Skibo gave much credit to their boat preparation and rig tune, and to his crew--which
included sons Nick (age 21) and Jedd (age 19). Seven minutes before the final
race, their jib halyard jammed. Nick went up the rig to clear the halyard, and
the PLUM CRAZY crew got their jib up right before the start. The mishap did
not ruin Skibo's concentration. "This crew is so good," he said. "I didn't even
watch them clear that halyard."

Bob Taylor's Observations of Key West Race Week

A great week of one design racing for the J/105 fleet took place recently
at KWRW. After gathering input and feedback from the competitors over this past
week, a few traits have emerged that not only made this regatta very enjoyable
for all involved, but also these same guidelines can be used to make future
regattas successful as well. Lessons here for the class organizers as well as
the competitors:

1) Publicize the format as early as possible for this major regatta and others
of similar stature, this would include SORC, CRW, NOODs, BIRW, NAs, etc. A six
(6) month lead time is NOT unreasonable. Owners and crews need the lead-time
from a logistical standpoint. The majority of participants this year really
liked the KWRW format, but for next year it will be re-examined to see if a
closer adherence to the National Class Rules should be in place. In these first
two years of J/105 participation, the goal has been to maximize exposure to
as many owners as possible and build the regatta from there. There are other
rules issues that need to be looked at also, but that's another discussion.

2) The pre-regatta owners' meeting should be SOP for all major regattas. It
gets everybody on the same page in regards to the format, if there are some
questions to resolve prior to meeting on the racecourse, and for many, it puts
a face with a boat name. Especially true at KW, where so many owners and crew
had never even sailed together before, let alone met owners from other parts
of the country.

3) The RC in KW did an outstanding job of race management. All J/105 regattas
where there are more than 12 boats on the line, should ask for: 1) adequately
long starting line 2) weather mark with stand-off mark 50-100yds off 3) leeward
gates. In Key West we had a lon starting line due to starting after the Mumm
30 and Meles 24 fleets. There was a mid-line boat which actually made choosing
a starting spot on the line an interesting decision and there was also in effect
for every race, the "One Minute Rule". With an 8 race format with no throw-outs,
being over early, made you round the ends and pay dearly for your eagerness.
This racecourse configuration has time and again shown to decrease the number
of protest incidents. The pre-regatta owners' meeting addressed the issue of
not prematurely setting the sprit, th stand-off mark kept the boats separated
after rounding the weather mark, and the leeward gates gave multiple options
for drivers. I don't think there were more than 2-3 protests all week in the
105 fleet and even these never went to the protest room. A great mindset by
all involved, hats off to this fleet.

4) The pre-tent gathering at the Raw Bar was fairly successful, it gave owners
and crews another opportunity to meet, without having to shout to be heard,
as so often is the case in the tent. Increase the social interaction of fleet
members has room for improvement.

5) The mid-week class dinner was popular and well attended. It was graciously
hosted by Ken H. and Bob J., with most owners contributing something in the
way of food, drink, or labor. A prior day reminder throughout the fleet should
be SOP also.

6) The 6 person max.per boat vs. 970 lb weight limit was favored by the majority
of participants this year. The average crew weight with 6 persons this year
was 1120lbs. Due to the wide range of wind conditions at KWRW this year, crew
weight had no effect on boat performance from what I observed. The best sailed
boats emerged to the top of the fleet, plain and simple. Crew weights ranged
from 970lbs to 1220lbs. No competitor loaded up with the "gorillas" as some
had feared. Whether next year's format will be the same will be subject to a
class poll sometime in June, with this year's competitors opinions taken into
special consideration.

7) The issue of sail inventory during a regatta needs some attention and will
be addressed prior to BIRW and the wording of the 2 spinnaker rule needs some
clarification also.

8) The experienced crew of the shoal draft Southern Crescent showed that it
is possible to race evenly in a deep draft fleet with the 6 sec/mile handicap.
Their worse finish came in a race when they were over early, and their best
finish on Friday came in a shifty 12-18 kt breeze. Start well, pick the right
side of the course to get to, play the shifts and you'll be in the money. The
SD boat showed better downwind speed than the DDs IMHO during the week. KWRW
this year, due to a number of factors was truly outstanding. Asked if they would
do it again, this fleets' reponse was a resounding YES!! Enjoy the photos and
the memories.

-- Bob

[Bob also notes that one thing I forgot in the following was that Andy uses
faired bottom, keel and rudder from Custom Offshore, while Bob sails with the
"raw" gelcoat bottom.]

Monday morning quarterbacking (a week late)

Like Bob Taylor at the North American Championship, Andy Skibo on PLUM CRAZY
won Key West Race Week Regatta going away. As I did for the NA's, I'd like to
make some observations, for what they are worth. At the NA's I had a ringside
seat on the committee boat and at Key West, I spend half my time with my eyes
glued to the luff of the spinnaker on JUXTAPOSE. And we weren't always in contact
with Andy on the upwind legs either. But it's clear that Andy's program is very
different from Bob's program. So the moral of this story will be that there's
more than one way to skin a cat.

1. Philosophy. Andy and his crew are self-described "technophiles."
They love playing with this boat, they want to know how everything works, what
it does when, what happens if you tweak it, etc. As technophiles they collect
lots of data on lots of things. They know how fast they should be going in every
condition. Team Taylor is more of a "seat of the pants" program. They
sail more by "touch" than by the "numbers."

2. Racing Frequency. Team Skibo (or PLUM CRAZY, Inc. to some) race in about
30 regattas a year. From Block Island to Key West, in their home waters off
New Jersey, and Annapolis, they keep getting more and more experience on the
boat. In contrast, Team Taylor (TT) only sailed in a handful of regattas in
1999.

3. Crew. As you might expect with such a grueling schedule, it's not always
the same five that sail on PC. Andy has three sons and a daughter that sail
with him at times, but some are away at school and he has another group that
he draws on. He has backups for every position. Yes, there are long-term friends
and sailmakers aboard at times, but for the most part all the crew learned to
sail on PC. On the other hand, TT has sailed all its regattas for the last four
years with the same five people. They all have their jobs honed to a high degree.
They're all amateurs, but they have some great talent at all positions.

4. Andy cites two primary reasons for success. The first is rig tune/mast set
up vs. sails design and the second is attention to details. They have five "gears"
at least for rig tuning: 8kt and down, 8-12 kt, 12-18, 18 to 25, and 25+. Being
the technophiles they are, they use a rod Loos gauge to get the tensions of
all the shrouds. They tweak those gears for sea state. The lower three gears
are shroud only; upper two gears is forestay as well. They're still playing
on a really low gear for the Chesapeake "oily water" cold water lamimar boundary
layer stuff they see in spring. That involves mast butt location as well. Hopefully,
Andy will write an article that describes his rig tuning regime in more detail.
But clearly, anyone who did not touch their rigs to adjust for the three heavy
days and two light days in Key West was sorely disadvantaged.

5. Attention to details. Every cotter pin, screw, nut, spring, bolt is somebody's
job. After every heavy air day at KW Andy's Team went over the rig from mast
head to keel bolts/stem to stern looking at every part for looseness or damage.
They carry no unnecessary weight on board, but have critical spares. (They rebuilt
a blown primary on the upwind leg of Thursday's second race). They minimize
mistakes and unforced errors. They get the chute up and down without problems.
They are tactically sound.

6. Sails. For KWRW Andy used a two year old main, a new jib, and a two year
old spinnaker, all by Ullman Sails. He has several backup sets of sails and
he usually keeps the newer sails for use in major regattas, but in this case,
he won the regatta with pretty old sails. Take a look at some of the photos
and you'll see for yourself. On the other hand, TT doesn't put many miles on
their sails. With only a handful of regattas per year, they are nearly in new
condition when the sail rotation allows them to purchase new ones. So you have
trades of time-in-the-boat versus time-on-the-sails.

7. Instrumentation. Andy has a conventional instrument setup. No Occams or
B&G Hydras. But they record lots of data from the instruments and know what
the instruments are telling them. TT on the other hand, sails without any instruments
except an old-fashioned compass. (I think they succumbed to a fancy solar powered
Tacktick late last year.)

8. Gentlemen. It has been my experience that both Bob and Andy are outstanding
gentlemen who have the best interests of the J/105 Class at heart. They are
not afraid to share what they know with the rest of the owners. But they also
have different personalities. Andy loves to talk about his boat. Bob is more
the diplomatic wheeler dealer. Hope I haven't insulted anybody! ;-)

So there's lots for us to emulate in both programs. Don't be afraid to ask
them to expound on some of the finer points of the game.

-- Nelson

PS: Isn't it interesting that none of the three programs that have had the
most success over the last year (adding Damian Emery and his six regatta win
streak on LIS) use sails from the two sailmakers that have the vast majority
of the J/105 business? Is that significant or not? What does it mean? Go for
it on the FORUM!

Friday Night Report

Friday's race was sailed in a brisk and gusty northerly. While the temps dropped
into the sixties, the water was still aquamarine and the sailors weren't complaining.
The RC set a two mile five leg course for the last race of the regatta. At the
first weather mark it was PHENIX, PLUM, MASQUERADE, and JUXTAPOSE all rounding
in a tight pack, with PHANTOM mixing it up with the others. This group stayed
close for the second and third roundings, but on the last beat JUXTAPOSE fouled
PHENIX and did a 720 and then caught a crab pot on their keel to push them deep.
In the meantime, shoal draft SOUTHERN CRESCENT kept pouring on the steam. In
the end it was PLUM CRAZY first, SOUTHERN CRESCENT second, and PHENIX third,
followed closely by PHANTOM, MASQUERADE, and WET LEOPARD.

For the regatta, PC had no worse than fifth and all the rest money finishes for
first place with 19 point, 14 clear of PHANTOM who picked up a place in the last
race at the expense of WONDER WAGON, who had backstay problems and had to restart
when they got hung up on the pin boat at the start. This is the last dispatch
from your friendly correspondent who will board a plane on Saturday morning for
insanely cold New England. Most of the boats will be coming back again next year,
so let's try for thirty boats.

Thursday Night Report

First of all, to all those in the Northeast in the snow, I must report that the
weather has been terrific. High seventies and sunny. You ought to be here. Make
your reservations for next year! Today the wind piped back up into the 15-18 knot
range for both of the races. The first race was a 4 legger to the west. The second
was a 5 legger more to the southwest. And we were all back to the dock by about
2:30 p.m. The first race saw three strangers ahead at the top mark. It was PHENIX,
MASQUERADE, and JUXTAPOSE going around ahead of the rest of the fleet. But it was
WONDER WAGON that arose from the ashes and pulled their second straight bullet, followed
by MASQUERADE and PHENIX who won their first silver. In the second race, the race committee
called five boats back to restart around the ends. By the end it was ECLIPSE
with their second win followed closely by PLUM CRAZY and WONDER WAGON. But PLUM's 5-2
for the day was good enough to move them further into the lead and WW's 1-3 put them
up two places to second. PHANTOM held third with their 4-8 while FLAME dropped out of
the money positions with a 12-9. Another highlight was that SUNDQUEST, one of the shoal
draft boats, made single digits for the first time with a classy 6th in the second race.

The Race Committee work has been nothing short of fantastic. With the agressive Mumm 30's,
Melges 24's and our fleet of passive J/105's :-) there have been no general recalls. They have
recalled as many as six boats on individual recalls, however.

The party at the Truman Annex was quite fantastic also. Sponsored by the owners of #224
(Airborne), all the owners were assigned to bring various assortments of food and drink.
This was all orchestrated by Bob Johnstone, and everyone seemed to have a great time
recapitulating the day's racing. We will never know where all that extra food and drink
went.

Wednesday Night Report

It was another day of leeward weight racing -- a total of nine short legs at 4-6 knots
of breeze. The first race was a four leg, WL course with 1.25 mile legs at 310 degrees.
The second race was a five legger at 280 degrees finishing to weather. The top three held
their regatta
lead, but showed some chinks in their armor as two new boats claimed wins in the two races.
In the first race ECLIPSE found
their LIS magic and got to the weather mark about 200 yards ahead of WONDER WAGON.
By the second time around WW had closed the gap to a couple of boatlengths and actually
passed ECLIPSE on the final leg. But ECLIPSE came back in final quarter mile to win
their first race of the regatta in a close finish. In the second race, WW took the lead
on the first weather
leg and never relinquished it. FLAME stayed close for the whole race, and the pair opened
a huge gap between them and the third place boat PLUM CRAZY. PLUM's two thirds hfor the
day was good enough to put them into the lead for the regatta. FLAME held onto second with a
2-6 and PHANTOM held third with 4-5.

Tuesday Night Report

Today the wind went light. After a postponement lasting about an hour the
RC set us off on a five leg 1.25 mile WL with upwind finish starting in 5 knots of
breeze. The wind shifted slightly to the north from the previous day. The
three leaders from the previous day continued their dominance in the light
stuff, showing no preference for heavy or light air. Around the first mark
it was FLAME, PHANTOM, and MASQUERADE, followed closely by PLUM. A quarter
mile from the finish it was PHANTOM ahead, but a shift jumbled the order with
FLAME first, PLUM second, and PHANTOM third.

Monday Night Report

As advertised the wind blew again on Monday from the NE at 15 knots.
The 105's started in the same circle with the Mumm 30's and the Melges
24's with a ten minute starting interval. In the first race, the new
WET LEOPARD got off to a great start and was first around the weather
mark. PLUM CRAZY and PHANTOM sailed consistently throughout the race
and were in a photo finish with neither boat sure of the winner. PLUM
got the nod for the first with PHANTOM second and FLAME third.

In the second race there were five 105's over the line early, but the
race committee called them all back, avoiding a general recall. The
starting line was amply long since the 105's used the same line (with
mid-line mark boat) as the 42 boat Melges fleet. This time FLAME took
an early lead and won going away. PLUM edged out PHANTOM again for second.
The top three managed a 5 point bulge between them and the fourth place boat,
WONDER WAGON.

Sunday Night Report

The Saturday and Sunday preceding the KWRW Regatta were unseasonably cold and
unseasonably breezy. The temperatures were in the 50s and the breeze was kicking
up into the thirties on Saturday. Those that were prepared to go out mostly decided
that it was not worth the risk of gear failure. Most of the 105's were rigged and
ready for practice on Sunday, when the winds quieted a bit to around 20 knots. It
was not unusual to see 12-14 knots of boatspeed on the spinnaker runs.

Bob Taylor conducted the pre-race meeting at the restaurant on Stock Island. There
was an excellent turnout and Bob Johnstone handed out assignments for the Class party
on Wednesday night. Judging from the amount of food and drink he asked us all to bring
it will be a bash to be remembered. The weatherman is predicting lighter winds on
Monday of 15 knots which will be perfect for the first day of the weeklong regatta.